ASSOCIATED PRESSPeter Falk is dead at 83. Best-known for his role as the eccentric Lt. Columbo, Falk gestures while on location for "Columbo Likes the Nightlife" in this Oct. 29, 2002 file photo, in Los Angeles.

"Columbo" actor Peter Falk is dead at 83, reports KTLA and Variety. The New York-born actor died at his Beverly Hills home last night. His daughter Catherine Falk says her father had been battling Alzheimer's disease and dementia of late.

Falk's first TV show was the title role in the lawyer drama "The Trials of O'Brien." Cancelled after just 22 episodes, the show ran in 1965 and 1966.

While he appeared in a plethora of TV television shows throughout the '60s and '70s, he's perhaps best known as star of the "Columbo." The absent-minded and often disheveled detective first appeared in the 1968 film "Prescription: Murder."

The first show debuted in 1971 was directed by a 25-year-old director named Steven Spielberg. Columbo aired regularly from 1971 to 1978 on NBC, and then less frequently on ABC beginning in 1989. The most recent episode was broadcast in 2003.

A close friend to indie film director John Cassavetes, Falk also starred in "Husbands," "A Woman Under the Influence" and "Opening Night." Other film work included "The In-Laws" and "The Princess Bride."

Falk was nominated for an Academy Award for best Supporting Actor twice: "Murder, Inc." (1960) and "Pocketful of Miracles" (1961). He won four Emmys for his starring role in "Columbo."